Sunday, March 30, 2014

Last week, the United States Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention released their newest statistics regarding the identified prevalence
of autism spectrum disorders, and the numbers are staggering. According to
their current data, one in 68 children has autism. Moreover, nearly five times
as many boys have autism as girls do, which means one in 42 boys has been
identified as having autism. As an autism mom who constantly does research on
autism and as a teacher of thirty years who has witnessed the increase
first-hand, I probably was not as surprised as most people were to see how
common autism has now become. [To read the CDC report on autism prevalence,
please click here.]

While the actual numbers are disconcerting, the rapid rate
of increase should indicate something is clearly amiss. Specifically, in 2000,
based upon the birth year 1992 (in which I would include Alex since he was born
at the very end of 1991), the rate of autism was 1 in 150, as it was also in
2002. In 2004, the prevalence increased to 1 in 125, and in 2006, the rate
increased to 1 in 110. Two years later in 2008, the statistics jumped to 1 in
88. Now the current research, based upon 2010 data of children born in 2002 has
risen to the current rate of 1 in 68 children. I’m not a math whiz like Alex,
but the increase in ten years from 1 in 150 to 1 in 68 should serve as a
wake-up call that something is desperately wrong to cause such an epidemic of a
lifelong disability.

As I read various articles this week that discussed the
increased rates of autism, the seeming lack of concern in the mainstream media
bothered me. I suppose some people think that if they don’t have a child with
autism, this is not their problem. However, the CDC also shares economic
figures that should concern our society. According to their data, the average
medical expenditure for a child with autism is 4.1-6.2 times higher than that
for typical children. These increased costs will affect insurance rates and
will increase Medicaid spending for children who receive disability benefits.
To put this economic burden into perspective, the CDC estimated in 2011 that
the total societal expense for caring for children with autism would cost over
nine billion dollars per year. With rapidly increasing numbers of children
diagnosed with autism, this expense will only rise to even greater costs.
Consequently, autism will impact everyone, either directly or indirectly.

On Tuesday, the beginning of April will mark yet another
Autism Awareness Month, or as some autism groups prefer to designate it, Autism
Action Month. With increased numbers of children who have autism, awareness
should no longer be a real issue. However, action needs to be taken to help
those affected with autism and to figure out what is causing the rate of autism
to increase dramatically. Essentially, three areas need to be addressed
regarding autism: cause, cure, and community resources.

Despite several years and billions of dollars spent on
autism research, a clear cause of autism has not been established. While the
medical community insists the increased vaccination schedule has had no impact
on increased autism rates, the possibility that vaccines may be a contributing
factor has not been ruled out completely. Even though doctors and drug
companies assure parents that vaccines are completely safe and necessary, many
parents believe a link exists between autism and immunizations. This month, an
article entitled “Baby Monkeys Develop Autism Symptoms After Getting Popular
Childhood Vaccines” described research done at University of Pittsburgh in
which infant monkeys who were given childhood immunizations developed autistic
symptoms while their counterparts who were not given vaccines did not. [To read
this article, please click here.] Certainly, vaccines are important to public
health, but their safety—especially in light of the autism epidemic—must be
established. If vaccines are not a cause of autism, the medical community needs
to find a definite cause of autism. As two of my close friends are pregnant, I
have watched them struggle with making decisions regarding flu shots and
whooping cough vaccines during pregnancy and their fears about how those shots
could affect their unborn babies. Their doctors tell them these vaccines are
important to protect their babies, but they worry if what is supposed to help
their children could harm them instead. How can the medical community truly
assure parents when they, themselves, have no good idea what really causes
autism?

Another issue that must be addressed is curing autism. Even
though adults with high functioning autism find this suggestion offensive, the
vast majority of children with autism suffers from medical issues, such as
digestive problems, has great difficulty communicating, and requires constant
supervision to keep them safe, especially since nearly half of them tend to
wander away from places of safety. Again, the mainstream medical community has
offered very little to help these children and has often been critical of those
doctors who recommend more holistic approaches, such as diet and nutritional
supplements. As I have mentioned in previous blog entries, we have followed the
work of doctors whose children have autism, knowing that they will aggressively
pursue ways to help their children yet will not endanger them with risky
treatments. More research needs to be done to find ways to treat and cure
autism so that these children and their families do not need to suffer.

Finally, community resources need to be available now for
those families who have children with autism, especially since no definitive
cause or cure has been established. Critical therapies, including speech,
occupational, and behavioral therapies, are expensive and often not easy to
find. Because of the rapidly increasing numbers of children with autism, many
agencies that offer these therapies have long waiting lists for services.
Moreover, many families cannot afford the cost of these therapies and find
themselves on waiting lists for years to receive state disability services. As
children age out of the educational system when they turn 22, they will need
adult services, which are even harder to find. For example, we have had Alex on
a waiting list for a day program for nearly two years. Fortunately, our job
schedules permit one of us to always be home with him, and we can afford
financially for me to work part-time, which accommodates Alex’s needs. However,
many families must make huge sacrifices to care for their adult children with
autism as they wait for community services. Until a definitive cause and cure
for autism is found, community resources must expand rapidly to address the
autism epidemic and to be available to help these families dealing with autism.

One in 68 children has autism. One in 42 boys are affected.
Something must be done to help these children, especially if the statistics
continue their trend of increase. At what point will our society not just be
aware, not just accept, but act? As someone who places much more faith in God
than mankind, I keep praying for rescue for these children and their families,
and I keep searching for answers that may help my child and others who are more
than statistics—they are God’s children, too.

Sunday, March 23, 2014

One of the nicest features about the town where we live is
the variety of local parks. Recently, our city leaders have sought input
regarding the renovation of two older parks and the expansion of the newest
park. A group of parents in our community whose children have special needs
have done research, discussed ideas, collaborated, and presented ways that
these parks could better accommodate people with disabilities. From considering
alternatives to mulch under playground equipment that would be easier for
wheelchair access to investigating the best swings for special needs children,
these parents have made requests that would benefit not only their children but
also other children now and in the future who have similar needs. Besides
accessibility to playgrounds, these parents have suggested that the parks offer
family restrooms. Seeing the value of this concept, the parks department has
indicated that the expansion of the newest park and the redevelopment of the
old children’s playground will indeed include family restrooms.

While we are fortunate that Alex does not have major physical
limitations and is toilet trained, we would have concerns about his using a
public restroom without one of us being there to assist him. When we do things
as a family, Ed could take him to the restroom if needed, but when I take Alex
places by myself, I worry that he will need to go to the bathroom. Since he is
now twenty-two years old and six feet tall, he wouldn’t be easy to sneak into
the women’s restroom with me, but in an emergency, that’s what would have to
happen. Trying to avoid this scenario, before we leave the house, I ask Alex
repeatedly, “Do you need to go to the bathroom before we leave? Are you sure
you won’t need to go while we’re out? Don’t you think you should go now? When
did you last go to the bathroom? Are you positive you don’t need to go to the
bathroom before we go?” After the barrage of questions, Alex usually just
decides it’s easier to make a quick trip to the bathroom before we leave than
to listen to my nagging. Still, I worry when the two of us are out in public
that he will need to use the restroom, and I will have to figure out the best
way to accommodate his need. Family restrooms would be the ideal solution for
us.

In doing some reading about family restrooms, I realized
that these facilities not only benefit children with special needs who require
the assistance of parents or caregivers but also any parents of children of the
gender opposite theirs. For example, fathers would prefer not to take their young
daughters into the men’s room, but they may not be comfortable with their
daughters going into the women’s restroom alone. Or, as in my case, mothers
don’t want their sons going into the men’s room alone but realize that other
women may not be comfortable with boys, or especially a young man, being in
the ladies’ room. In addition, older people with disabilities may prefer family
restrooms so that their spouses can assist them. With Alex we have two primary
concerns regarding using a public restroom alone. First, his lack of social
skills could make him vulnerable to a negative interaction with others. He
could be easy prey to someone taking advantage of his gullibility, or someone
may find his awkward behavior, such as not giving enough personal space, annoying or threatening. Another issue we are currently dealing with is his
carelessness about making certain he pulls up his pants completely after
toileting. Without our reminding and even help with adjusting his clothing, he
could offend others by having his rear end partially exposed. Family restrooms
could prevent any of those scenarios for us.

As this discussion regarding the addition of family
restrooms in the city parks has evolved, parents of special needs children on a
local Facebook group have noted and shared locations of family restrooms in the
area, including stores, restaurants, libraries, and fitness clubs. This
discussion has made me much more aware of family restrooms with the hopes that
if I know where they are, I’ll never need to use one with Alex. Yesterday, we
took him to the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center to view the various exhibits they
have in conjunction with our nearby state park. As this was my first time to
visit the center, I noted the various displays and amenities offered to
visitors and was surprised to see that in addition to the restrooms for men and
women, a third option was available—a family restroom. Although we didn’t need
to use this facility, I was pleased that the visitor center offers this
accommodation for those who do need it.

With the increasing rates of autism, more and more parents
are going to find themselves caring for children and eventually adults with
autism. As we try to integrate our children in the community by taking them out
in public, we will need to have restroom facilities that accommodate their
special needs. Family restrooms provide an ideal solution to the problem not
just for parents and caregivers of special needs people but also for any parents
who do not want their children to go to public restrooms alone. Until family restrooms
become more common, I’ll keep badgering Alex before he and I leave for mother-son
outings and keep my fingers crossed that we never have to sneak into the
women’s restroom together. However, that could make an interesting blog entry.

“Two people are better than one. They can help each other in
everything they do.” Ecclesiastes 4:9

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Most of the time, I try not to think about it, to shove it
from my mind when I remember or to think about it rationally as a time we
somehow, through the grace of God, survived. Other times, I feel a gratitude
that we did get through the time of uncertainty and fear, coming out better and
stronger. Sometimes, though, something will trigger a memory that will nearly
take my breath away, and I remember vividly that period in our lives I try
desperately to forget. Twice this past week, I had those moments where I had to
catch my breath and remember to be thankful for blessings that came out of that
time. Specifically, seeing shamrock decorations for St. Patrick’s Day and a
comment Alex made took me back two years ago to when we had to hospitalize him
in a locked psychiatric ward for extreme anxiety and aggression.

Two years ago on St. Patrick’s Day, Alex awakened extremely
agitated and combative, and we decided to take him to the emergency room,
hoping to get some medical intervention after months of unsuccessful attempts
to get help for his increasingly erratic and aggressive behavior. After waiting
for more than an hour for a psychiatric consult and basically being ignored by
the ER staff, we decided to take him home because the waiting was making him
even more upset. During this wait, I remember seeing all the shamrocks
decorating the ER and thinking that I envied those who were celebrating that holiday
when we were struggling to figure out what was wrong with our son and getting
no help. The only good thing that came from that ER trip was that a doctor told
us that our local mental health facility would not consider admitting Alex
because he has autism, which made us realize that we would have to find another
facility if he needed in-patient treatment.

Frustrated by our experience, we took him home, where he was
reasonably calm the rest of the day. However, in the middle of the night he
awakened more upset and agitated than we had ever seen him, and we struggled to
subdue him. Knowing this was more than we could handle, we reluctantly called
the police to help us restrain him so that I could give him an injection of
Ativan to sedate him since he refused to take Ativan by mouth. With the kind
assistance of three police officers, Ed and I were able to give him the shot he
needed to settle down. Then we knew we had to do something while he was still calm.
I began rapidly searching online for nearby hospitals with mental health
departments and discovered the nearest one was about a half hour away. I called
their 24-hour phone number and asked if they treated patients with autism and
was told they did. The woman on the phone told me to bring him to their
hospital’s ER, where he could be assessed before he would be admitted to their
behavioral medicine department. Grabbing a few things, the three of us along
with my parents headed for the hospital, hoping and praying we would find help
there. We arrived at the ER, where we found kind and compassionate staff took
our concerns seriously, and Alex was admitted that Sunday morning. While we
were upset that he needed in-patient treatment, this was the beginning of his
healing. [For more details about Alex’s hospitalization, please see my blog
entries from March, April, and May of 2012.]

Alex never talks about those weeks of being in the hospital.
We don’t mention them, partly for fear of upsetting him, knowing that he was
scared about being away from home for the first time in his life, but also
because we don’t like remembering that sad time of our lives when we didn’t
know what was going to happen. This week, Alex had a minor panic attack where
he became slightly agitated—a far cry from those days were he became terrified
and aggressive—but was able to calm himself quickly. When I asked him why he
was upset, he told me, “Don’t remember things in 2012.” This inability to
remember something two years ago bothered him because his memory is quite keen.
Trying to reassure him, I reminded him of some of the good things that happened
that year, and he was able to remember those, which made him feel better. Since
he was heavily sedated during and following his hospitalization, he probably
doesn’t remember a lot of that time, and he may, like me, try to block out the
bad memories so that he doesn’t have to remember them. Whatever the reason, I
hate that he had to go through that, and I hate that Ed and I had to go through
that as his parents.

While remembering those times is
hard, we’re beginning to gain perspective on what good came out of those bad
experiences. Certainly, we appreciate even more the improvements Alex has made
since then, knowing how far he has come. We also know that the struggles we
faced strengthened our faith as we trusted God to lead us, and He did. Before
the hospitalization, we could not find professionals to help us, and now we
have a fantastic team. Our family doctor, psychiatric nurse practitioner,
pharmacists, behavioral therapist, music therapist, and case worker--all of
whom genuinely care about us--see the good in Alex and work together with Ed
and me to help Alex reach his potential, and they celebrate his accomplishments
along the way. Moreover, we also now have financial assistance given for Alex’s
disability to help us pay for services we had to pay ourselves for many years.
Even though the memories of Alex’s hospitalization and the months that led up
to it are painful, we know that time was part of the plan to help him move
forward. Maybe the annual appearance of shamrocks that remind me of that time
are actually meant to remind us that we, indeed, do have the luck of the Irish
because things have changed so much for the better. While we don’t know what
the future holds, we do know who holds our future, and we are thankful that God,
who saw us through our darkest moments, will see us through every day with His
grace and peace. In the words of an Irish blessing: “May joy and peace surround
you, contentment latch your door, and happiness be with you now and bless you
evermore!”

“This is what the Lord says: ‘Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have
promised them.’” Jeremiah 32:42

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Today’s New
York Times Magazine offers a compelling article written by the father of an
adult son with autism entitled “Reaching My Autistic Son Through Disney.” [To
read this article, please click here.] In this essay, author Ron Suskind
describes how his family has dealt with autism over the years and how Disney
characters and movies have helped his son with autism learn to communicate with
others. Describing his son’s fascination with the Disney animated movies, the
author explains that when his son was younger, he began quoting lines from the
movies he’d watched over and over. While the experts described this behavior
from his essentially nonverbal son as echolalia, or simply repeating what has
been heard without any intended meaning, Suskind and his wife realized that
these repeated lines had context and meaning to their son. By using lines from
the movies their son had watched with such interest and joy, they were able to
communicate with their son and begin to understand what he was thinking and
feeling. As Suskind notes, “There’s a reason—a good-enough reason—that each
autistic person has embraced a particular interest. Find that reason, and you
will find them, hiding in there, and maybe get a glimpse of their underlying
capacities.”

In reading this
essay, I was taken back to when Alex was younger and loved watching Disney
videos, too—like Suskind’s son, who is about Alex’s age, rewinding the
videotapes to watch beloved scenes over and over again. Both of our sons, like
many children in the 1990’s, grew up on Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King,
and the classic Pinocchio, but our boys watched these movies with an intense
fascination that other typical children did not. While Suskind’s son focused
upon the dialogue that he repeated, for Alex the “good-enough reason” was the
music that brought him joy. Besides the classic Disney movies, Alex was also a
fan of the Disney Sing Along videos, where he could not only watch his favorite
animated characters but also watch as the lyrics to the familiar tunes from the
movies bounced across our television screen. For Alex, the written words had
more power than the spoken words, and the beautiful melodies offered an added
bonus to him.

Over the years,
music continues to delight Alex, who has rather eclectic tastes in music,
probably because his father and I have such different tastes in music. From Ed,
Alex has learned to appreciate music without words, as they have listened to
classical music and jazz together. Frankly, when they listen to Bob Dylan, the
effect is essentially the same because no one can really understand the words
he sings anyway. From me, Alex has learned the music of my generation, 1970’s
and 80’s pop music, as we listened to everything from the faux singing family
the Partridge Family to the real brothers Gibb, the Bee Gees. In addition, he
learned the traditional childhood songs, such as “This Old Man,” which he has
asked my mom to sing for him countless times over the years. As he has grown
older, he has chosen as his favorite the genre Ed and I both like—country
music, with its gentle melodies and storytelling lyrics.

Every Thursday
afternoon, Alex looks forward to his music therapy sessions with his music
therapist Noel, a young man who appreciates Alex’s enthusiasm for music. During
these sessions in our home, I listen from the next room, enjoying the songs
they sing and play together and the rapport they have established. Every week,
Alex chooses to listen to the pre-programmed song on our electronic keyboard
“Auld Lang Syne,” in homage to his love of New Year’s Eve and the tradition of
the New York Times Square ball drop countdown celebrating the start of a new year.
Most of the sessions, however, focus upon country music, and I enjoy listening
to Noel play the guitar while the two of them sing. Actually, Alex has to be
coaxed to sing loudly enough to be heard, but I can picture him in my mind
swaying to the rhythm and smiling as he sings, because I know how he loves
those songs. I also know that as they sing Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low
Places,” Alex is finding the lyrics funny and probably wishing that they could
sing the extra verse Garth only does in the live version where he tells off the
“little lady” in no uncertain terms. As they sing Johnny Cash’s classic “Folsom
Prison Blues,” I wonder what Alex is thinking about the harsh lyrics: “I shot a
man in Reno just to watch him die,” but suspect he is more engaged with how
Noel’s voice goes into the lower range as he sings those words. My favorite
song they sing together is another Johnny Cash song, “I Walk the Line,”
probably because I think of how those lyrics describe my feelings for Alex: “As
sure as night is dark and day is light, I keep you in my mind both day and
night, and happiness I’ve known proves that it’s right. Because you’re mine, I
walk the line.”

This week, Alex
was especially excited about my mom’s birthday on Thursday and kept telling me
that he wanted "to go to Nanny’s house." Because she had a cold, we weren’t able
to go on Thursday. When I finally asked him why he wanted to go so badly, I
discovered that he wanted to sing to her and have cake. I told him that we
could go this weekend, but he could still sing to her over the phone. Happily
and off tune, Alex launched into his rendition of “Happy Birthday” over the
phone, much to the delight of my mom. Yesterday, he was able to get his wish,
singing to her in person over a birthday cake, leaving out one of the lines,
perhaps to get to the cake a little sooner. For Alex, the tradition of
singing and cake makes birthdays special and creates joy that he can share with
others.

Similarly, I
was able to share a new song with Alex this week that we both enjoyed, a song
my seventh grade students had told me about from the new Disney animated movie
Frozen. After we had watched the excerpt from the movie in a You Tube video one
day last week at the end of class, I found myself humming the song all day. Alex
asked me what song I was humming, and because I sing off key, I pulled up
the video for him so that he could enjoy the song the way I had. [To watch the
video, please click here.] As we watched the animated version of “Let It Go”
with sing-along lyrics, I was taken back to when Alex was little and we watched
the Disney Sing Along videos. He smiled and swayed to the beautiful melody as I
focused more closely on the lyrics, the words I found touching and true, “It’s
funny how some distance makes everything seem small, and the fears that once
controlled me can’t get to me at all.” Of course, we had to watch the video
again, and Alex enjoyed it even more the second time because it was now
familiar, a tune he would recognize if he heard it again, which would make him
smile. Just as Ron Suskind’s son found Disney movies enabled him to connect to
the world and bring him contentment, Alex finds joy in music that allows him to
celebrate special days and to find simple pleasure in every day. In the words
of Bob Dylan (that I understand only because I’ve heard Rod Stewart sing them):
“May your heart always be joyful and may your song always be
sung. May you stay forever young.”

“He has given me a new song to
sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be
amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm
40:3

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Yesterday, as the month of March began, many people I know
here in Northwest Indiana were delighted to see the end of February, which has
been a very cold and snowy month. Somehow that shortest month of the year can
seem like the longest, as winter fatigue descends and makes us more eager for
the arrival of spring. Despite all the cold and snow that kept us inside more
than usual, somehow cabin fever never really bothered me much this year. Even
though I’m looking forward to warmer weather, more outdoor activities, and the
ground being covered with grass and flowers instead of snow and frost, I have
to say that we’ve had a fantastic February because Alex has been so good this
month.

Since the bitter cold and icy roads often limited our
activities last month, we had to look for ways to keep Alex entertained.
Fortunately, he has been doing a great job of suggesting things he’d like to do
and was understanding if weather had to change our plans. Perhaps the most
significant indicator of his progress is that he has developed patience and no
longer seems annoyed or frantic about having to wait for things to happen.
Lately, he has become very good about finding things to keep himself occupied,
primarily reading books and researching topics of interest on his iPad Mini. In
addition, he has become engaged in watching American Idol, which keeps him busy
and entertained two evenings a week.

A couple of weeks ago, he went to a middle school girls’
basketball game at my school for the first time, which he had been requesting
to do for a few weeks. Although I was a bit concerned about how he would handle
the noise, especially in our old gym where sound echoes in the exposed rafters,
he didn’t seem overwhelmed at all. Despite the silliness of some middle school
girls from another school sitting in front of us who were taking pictures of
themselves doing stupid things and laughing more loudly than necessary, Alex
appeared less annoyed by them than I was. He simply looked at them with a
bemused smile. Even though I told him that we could leave anytime he wanted to
go, he decided to stay for the entire game and seemed to have a great time
following the action, smiling and pleased my school won the game.

Last Saturday morning, we took him to the dentist for his
six-month checkup, and as usual, he was delighted to go. As I’ve mentioned in
previous blog entries, Alex has always had good experiences at the dentist, so
he looks forward to going every time. He practically skips to the door, and he
always comes out of the appointment with a big smile, showing his teeth all
shiny and professionally cleaned. Once again, his favorite part of the
experience is seeing his beloved hygienist, who looks like a supermodel and
calls him “Sweetie” in her deep sultry voice. After a good appointment where he
had no problems or cavities, she told me that he was “wonderful,” and we were
pleased that he had been cooperative for her and that he enjoyed his visit.

Later that evening, my school was holding a Mardi Gras
festival for the students, and the teachers who were sponsoring the event had
invited all staff members and their families to attend. While I wasn’t certain
how Alex would handle being around all that noise and activity, we asked him if
he would like to go. Eagerly, he decided that he wanted to go to the event and
kept calling it the Mardi Gras “meeting.” I explained to him that it was a
party, and he was definitely enthusiastic about that. As soon as we arrived, he
immediately wanted to know if there was food he could eat. After scanning the various
food booths for potential gluten-free and dairy-free food, I decided his best
bet was Mexican food. After surveying the choices, I looked for students whose
cooking skills I believed were safest and chose the booth run by a very nice
young lady who is one of my former honors English students. She prepared a
walking taco without cheese for him, a bowl filled with corn chips, ground beef
with taco seasoning, and lettuce. After finding a bench where the three of us
could sit, Alex happily devoured his food with a bottle of orange Fanta to
drink.

While we were there, some of my colleagues came over to say
hello, and Alex was polite enough to respond between bites of his food. After
he finished eating, he enjoyed walking around the gym to see all the game
booths and even won a prize—a sucker—on a game in which he had to spin a wheel.
Mostly, he liked watching all the various activities and seeing the middle
school kids having fun, especially during the tossing of Mardi Gras beads.
Despite the loud music, constant motion, and the inevitable noise made by more
than four hundred middle school kids having fun in a gym, Alex never seemed the
least bit overwhelmed, and his smile indicated he was having fun. In fact, Ed,
who isn’t used to being around middle school students like I am, commented that
Alex handled all the noise and confusion better than he did. Once again, we
were pleased that Alex not only behaved very well in a new situation, but also
that he had such a good time. When we came home, he told us that he wants to go
to Mardi Gras again next year.

To most people, these rather ordinary experiences may not
seem like much of an accomplishment, but for us, we realize how much progress
Alex has made in his ability to cope with new and sometimes overwhelming
experiences. The progress he has made indicates something we are
doing—behavioral therapy, music therapy, medications, nutritional supplements,
or a combination of all of these—is working well. Maybe even just giving him
opportunities to try new things while we are there to support him has
helped.Whatever the reason, I’m
convinced that God has guided our steps to help Alex, and we are thankful for
the improvements that allow him to participate in activities that enhance his
ability to enjoy life.

“So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better
for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoylife. That way they will experience some happiness
along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 8:15

About Me

Pam Byrne is the mother of an adult son, Alex, who was diagnosed with autism in 1996, at the age of four. Since then, she has researched autism and pursued various therapies to help him reach his full potential. Along with her husband, Ed, she coordinates Alex's support services, including behavioral, recreational, and music therapies and respite care. A graduate of Valparaiso University, she is a retired middle school English teacher. She lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, with her husband and son.